Hailstones strike northern provinces again

A 7-minute hailstorm rained down Sa Pa district in the northern
mountainous province of Lao Cai early in the morning of April 3, making
it the sixth hitting the province over the last eight days.

It was reported that hail was light and caused no serious damage in the locality.

Earlier in the night of April 2, two successive hailstorms with
whirlwinds struck the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, Deputy Director of the provincial
Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said that both hailstorms
only swept through the province’s Lai Chau town, and the size of stones
ranges from 15mm to 20mm.

Statistics from the office of the
provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention show that,
from April 1 to 3, hailstorms and whirlwinds wreaked havoc on property
and crops across the province.

In Sin Ho district alone, the extreme weather damaged 600 rubber trees and blew off roofs of more than 100 houses.

Roofs
of over 30 houses and a number of classrooms in Nam Khao, Mu Ca and
Muong Te communes, Muong Te district were also destroyed.

Six houses in Tan Hong and Quyet Thang wards of Lai Chau town suffered from damage.

The flood and storm prevention steering committees of the province’s
districts and Lai Chau town have sent officials to inspect, update the
damage and give guidance to residents to overcome the disaster
aftermaths.

On April 3, a 30-minute torrential rain, accompanied
by whirlwind, killed one person and injured another in Nam Can commune,
Ky Son district, in central Nghe An province.

It took away roofs of 15 houses and ruined crops in the commune.

Earlier, on March 30, hails rained down on Luu Kien commune in the province, damaging 84 houses and crops.-VNA